Let Us Keep the Rosh
Chodesh
by
Rabbi T. Mordecai Mitchell
Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of Bnai Yeshurun Nazarene Israelite Synagogue,
Kittanning Pa. and board member of the UONYC
Tehillim (Psalms) 104:19 He made the moon for appointed
times. (To set the Holy Days of Vayyiqra [Leviticus] 23.
Blessings brethren.
Starting Tuesday evening at sundown (August 3, 2010) is Rosh Chodesh (New Moon
month) of Elul. Therefore Wednesday is a New Moon day.
I believe that all too
often Yahweh's people ignore or fail to remember the Mitzveh of Rosh Chodesh.
In Bereshith (Genesis)
1:14 18, the Fourth Day of the recreation of the world, Yahweh ordained
celestial bodies for times and seasons.(moedim commanded
convocations).
14. And Elohim
said, Let lights come in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the
earth. And so it came to be.
15. And Elohim
made two great light, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to
rule the night, and the stars.
16. And Elohim
set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the
earth,
-
and to rule
over the day and over the night., and to separate light from darkness. And
Elohim saw that it was good.
-
And there came
to be evening and their came to be morning, the fourth
day.
What we read about in
verse 14 is three basic units of time. Let us cross reference this verse with
YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 33:25 Thus said YHWH, If My covenant is not with day
and night, and if I have not appointed laws of the heavens and earth,
Then I would also
reject the descendants of Ya'aqob and David My servant, so that I should not
take care of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Avraham,
Yitshaq, and Ya'aqob. For I shall turn back their captivity, and have compassion
on them.
What we have read here shows a direct connection
between the Torah and the celestial signs.
Keeping Rosh Chodesh is a Torah command, one that
will be enforced in the Kingdom of Yahweh to be established on this earth. It
will be obeyed by all peoples regardless of ethnic origin or race.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:23 And it shall be that
from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all
flesh shall come to worship before me, declares YHWH.
The term ...all flesh means just
that. The New Moon and the (weekly) Sabbath day are not just for Jews, and not
just for Kol Yisrael. They are a Torah Command for everyone,
everywhere.
Some so-called lunar sabbath people would misconstrue
this verse to make a contention that the weekly Sabbath is determined by a Rosh
Chodesh. Addressing the false doctrine of the lunar sabbath is beyond the scope
of this article. However, for a detailed study of the subject, and reasons why
we reject the so-called lunar sabbath. Please visit our Website: www.BnaiYeshurun.com and click on the
lunar sabbath article. (There are several mainstream Jewish congregations with
the name B'nai Yeshurun, so please be sure to call up the one that specifies
Nazarene Yisraelite).
In closing, I would like to address two more issues:
Exactly what is a Rosh Chodesh (and what is not a Rosh Chodesh) and, How should
we keep this commanded observance today.
Some misinterpret Tehillim (Psalms) 81:3 Blow
the rams horn at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our festival
day, to mean the the new moon, falls when the moon is full. This
contention does not harmonize with Scripture, for we read in Bemidbar (Numbers)
28:11(a) we read: And on the beginnings of your months... The
phrase ...the beginnings of your months reads in Hebrew:
...ra'shei chodesheikim...
which is correctly translated as The head of
the crescent month... Therefore, in the light of this Scripture we must
understand that the beginning of a Hebrew month begins with a crescent moon
just when the moon evolves being obscured by the sun.
In the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations we
follow the authority of the standard Hebrew (Jewish) calendar in setting the
Hebrew months. That is our halakah (the way we interpret and apply
Torah).
How may we observe or commemorate a Rosh
Chodesh?
In the TaNaKh there is no clear command
outlining what is to be done to observe Rosh Chodesh (other than animal
sacrifices). So unless the New Moon falls on a weekly Sabbath, or in the case of
1 Tishri (Rosh HaShannah or Yom Teruah) the New Moon is not a day to refrain
from servile work.
Some suggestions are to read Tehillim (Psalms) 81 and
67. We read in 1 Shemu'el 20 and 2 Melakim 4:22 23 that a New Moon day is a
day of festivity for the family. Therefore, a special meal or at lest a special
treat is in order. It is also important to sound the Shofar or rams horn. A
blessing may also be recited:
Blessed are you, Yahweh our Elohim, who has
sanctified us by Your commandments and given us the great light, the lesser
light and the stars for times and seasons. May this Month (name of
month) be a blessing for us and for all Israel.
Other Scriptures or a short study, singing or other
appropriate activity may be added as the Ruach leads.
May Almighty Yahweh bless us as as we seek to fulfill
all Torah as ordained by the example of Yahshua our Messiah, MattithYahu 5: 17
19.
Questions or comments may be addressed to Rabbi
Mitchell via e-mail: yoel@windstream.net
(archive
rss
,
atom
)
E-Letter with teachings from the leaders of the UONYC.
Subscribe to UONYC Teaching Letter:
Powered by Dada Mail 2.9.2
Copyright © 1999-2005, Simoni Creative.